{"id":24791,"library":"universal-startfile","title":"universal-startfile","description":"A cross-platform replacement for os.startfile (Windows) that works on macOS and Linux by opening files with the default application. Current version 0.4, requires Python 3.9+. Releases are sporadic.","status":"active","version":"0.4","language":"python","source_language":"en","source_url":"https://github.com/jacebrowning/universal-startfile","tags":["cross-platform","file-opening","startfile","xdg-open"],"install":[{"cmd":"pip install universal-startfile","lang":"bash","label":"PyPI"}],"dependencies":[],"imports":[{"wrong":"from universal_startfile import startfile","symbol":"startfile","correct":"from startfile import startfile"}],"quickstart":{"code":"from universal_startfile import startfile\n\n# Open a file with the default application (cross-platform)\nstartfile('/path/to/file.pdf')","lang":"python","description":"Opens a file using the OS default program. Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux."},"warnings":[{"fix":"Use underscore in imports: `from universal_startfile import startfile`.","message":"The package name on PyPI uses hyphen (universal-startfile), but the Python module uses underscore (universal_startfile). Import as `from universal_startfile import startfile`.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":"all"},{"fix":"Check return value (if any) or verify file associations before calling.","message":"On Linux, `startfile` typically calls `xdg-open`. This may fail silently if no default application is configured or if the file type is not associated.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":"all"}],"env_vars":null,"search_vec":"'0.4':27 '3.9':30 'applic':24 'cross':6,35 'cross-platform':5,34 'current':25 'default':23 'file':20,38 'file-open':37 'linux':17 'maco':15 'open':19,39,43 'os.startfile':10 'platform':7,36 'python':29 'releas':31 'replac':8 'requir':28 'sporad':33 'startfil':3,40 'univers':2 'universal-startfil':1 'version':26 'window':11 'work':13 'xdg':42 'xdg-open':41","created_at":"2026-05-01T08:14:56.295581+00:00","updated_at":"2026-05-01T08:14:56.295581+00:00","problems":null,"ecosystem":"pypi","meta_description":null,"install_score":null,"quickstart_score":null,"quickstart_tag":null,"pypi_latest":"0.4","cli_name":"","cli_version":null,"type":"library","homepage":"https://pypi.org/project/universal-startfile","github":"https://github.com/jacebrowning/universal-startfile","docs":"https://universal-startfile.readthedocs.io","changelog":null,"pypi":"https://pypi.org/project/universal-startfile/","npm":null,"openapi_spec":null,"status_page":null,"smithery":null,"categories":["devops"],"base_url":null,"auth_type":null,"provenance":{"verified_status":"passing","verified_at":"2026-07-03","last_verified":"2026-07-03","next_check":"2026-08-02","install_tag":null}}